Arran - Iceland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

The Arran Distillery is a whiskey distillery in Lochranza, Scotland, Isle of Arran.

Arran Distillers was founded in 1994 by Harold Currie, former director of Chivas and a D-Day veteran, with the intention of establishing a distillery on the Isle of Arran. During the construction of the distillery, a pair of golden eagles built their nest on a cliff near the distillery; since golden eagles are under protection, the construction of the distillery was temporarily stopped. The distillery, funded by private investors and through the sale of bonds, opened in 1995.

There used to be about fifty distilleries on the island, but most were "moon distilleries" or illegal distilleries. The last legally established distillery on Arran, called 'Lagg', closed in 1837.

Until recently, part of the casks were stored in Springbank's warehouses due to space constraints and the legal impossibility of expanding Arran Distillery's current warehouses. However, the distillery now has an on-site warehouse that allows for easier access to the casks. The distillery offers a cask purchase program which offers individuals the opportunity to own their own cask of whiskey which can be stored on site at the distillery.

Arran Distillery is a patron of the World Robert Burns Federation and has created a Robert Burns single malt and a Robert Burns blended whiskey in honor of Scotland's national poet. It is the only whiskey distillery authorized to use Robert Burns' image and signature on its packaging.

Most of Arran's whiskey is used to make their single malt whisky, but a small proportion is also used to make their blended whiskeys: Lochranza Blend, Robert Burns Blend and Arran Gold Single Malt Whiskey Cream Liqueur.

The Arran Distillery operated at a loss for many years until 2010. In 2003, Currie sold his shares and resigned from the board. The remaining shareholders own the company, trading as Isle of Arran Distillers Ltd. known, and whose managing director is Euan Mitchell.

In 2010, a 15th anniversary bottling was released to celebrate the distillery's open house on July 3rd. In the fall of 2010, the distillery's first official 14-year-old bottling was released. The first peated Arran single malt (named Machrie Moor) has been available since December 8th, 2010.